I was training my client James the other morning when he began his weekly diatribe:
One of these days I will finally be consistent with working out and have a good body.
Although James does miss a week or two from time to time due to work or travel, he works out two to four times a week and has a beautiful, healthy body. Let me also say that he is carrying more muscle than ever, recently took two inches off of his waist and said his remark as I was racking the dumbbells from the heaviest set of presses he has ever done in his life. My reply was also the same as usual— my jaw dropped, I blinked twice and after a moment of silence told him to give himself more credit. But then I asked him something new,
At what point will you feel your body is good?
His answer was a bit indirect but nonetheless clear to me. He began asking about some of the other bodies in the room and whether or not it was realistic to achieve that without steroids. Having known most everyone in the room for nearly ten years I assured him that his was the only body present that had never been aided by steroids. But even if that hadn’t been the case, comparing his body to those around him was not a healthy way to judge his own success. I quickly realized that he needed a better way of measuring his progress; otherwise, he would continue being disappointed with his results no matter how fantastic they were.I’ve had many clients and friends who lacked the healthy perspective necessary to define what a real success would be. Just last week I had to tell a very hard working and dedicated client that I could not support his ambitious goal of losing 65lbs. in 13 weeks. My biggest concern is to have a client go through all the work of exercising regularly, eating better, improving their sleep habits, reducing their stress and achieving what anyone else would consider to be incredible results but not be able to enjoy them because they set the bar higher than any drug-free or healthy body could ever attain.Progress is not always going to be linear. Your workouts are not always going to be consistent. Work will be too busy for the gym some days. Family and friends will make demands. You will get sick. One morning you will feel great about your body but come evening feel terrible, for seemingly no good reason. You will have on days and you have off days.But there are countless ways to mark a success. It may be the effortless ascension of a flight of stairs. Newfound balance and coordination getting out of the tub. No back pain this week. Only took one sick day this winter and it was to play hooky with your lover. Your sexy jeans fit again. Carrying a child two blocks instead of one. Seeing yourself again when you look into the mirror.I would like your measure of progress to be based on an overall improvement of performance and quality of life (sleep, stress levels, food quality, relationships, activity levels). And instead of measuring improvement over the span of days or weeks, measure your progress over the span of a season or a year. It just may be that the good body you seek is the body you are already living in.
Jamie Dreyer is the President of Further Fitness NYC.
Tags: , dieting, exercise, healthy body, Personal Trainer, personal training, steriods
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January 13th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Why is this not in a printed published magazine?
January 13th, 2009 at 3:17 am
What a great way to look at success and progress. I tend to also be in the same boat as your client and have to constantly remind myself that my only goal is to be active 4-6 days a week. Of course, there is that unspoken goal that I want to lose weight and look smokin’ but I am trying to focus less on those things because all too often it is easy to see failure. Unfortunately, the days I feel unsuccessful and down about my body are when I let those unspoken (supposed to not even be there) goals take over my psyche. One day, I can dream, I won’t even think about those things, and be able to be happy that I have the ability to get up in the morning at ungodly hours and work out because it makes me a better person, medical student, and friend due to my energy boost and happiness.
January 13th, 2009 at 9:10 am
It is so great to hear this perspective coming from a trainer. Too many times in the past, I have heard directly or indirectly, a trainer promise that smokin’ hot body as long as they train you 3 or 4 times a week. They forget to mention that smokin’ body also is a product of liposuction, implants & some crazy diet of the month.
This movement towards achieving one’s goals of “health & fitness”, and I stress “health & fitness”, is finally forthcoming.
Thank you for being one of those trainers, as I am sure there are many out there, who make their client’s health a priority.
January 13th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Though this may not be the way to go, anyone who has to contemplate how soon they might be taken from this earth may no longer care about what they look like - though I am not really one to talk since everytime I have another baby I stress about what I will wear. Ah to be a flower in a field who never has to worry about what it is to wear or what it is to do today!
January 13th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Oh, I wishIwishIwishIwish. If only it were so simple Jamie. Try as I might (and as many people I know/love/encounter on a daily basis might) it’s just not so simple to get over that mental hurdle. Years ago, I stopped looking at the scale and decided to take compliments gracefully. (the scale was successfully hurdled…the compliment thing…well, still working on it. ) About a month ago, I got back on a scale only to find that I’d jumped about 20 pounds in 10 years. I’m still talking myself out of a doomsday rut–reminding my ego that I can run a 10K now and bench press my weight…things that would have made me flinch back then.
But there will always be that moment that my favorite jeans split from too much tension, and the stubborn layer of fat around the waist ….I have to remember everyday that it isn’t a battle against my body, it’s a journey for it—and I have to remember that 2-4 times a week religiously….just like getting to the gym.
January 17th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
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